Refrigerating apparatus



Aug. 19, 1941. F. P. KEIPER REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 7, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR f' mve/s P AE/ftk H13 TO A BY.

Au 19, 1941. I F P, K PER 2,253,126

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed. Aug. '7, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. .Fkmvc/s P AE/Plk.

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Aug. 19, 1941.

F. P. KEIPER 2,253,126

' REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. '7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. .Fkn/vcv: 7? A AIPIR. V

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Patented Aug. 19, 1941 REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Francis P. Keiper, Washington, D. 0., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Delaware Application August 7, 1937, Serial No. 157,970

2 Claims.

This invention relates to freezing devices for use in household refrigerators and particularly to grid structures for disposition in ice trays.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved grid structure adapted to be disposed in an ice tray for dividing the tray into a plurality of ice block compartments and a novel method of. removing the grid from the tray and ice blocks from the grid structure without applying heat thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and is taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing parts of the provide an ice tray with a removable single walled metal unitary grid structure which has some of the walls thereof movable relative to other walls for releasing ice blocks therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide an ice tray grid structure in which certain walls thereof are normally disposed at an acute angle to form ice blocks of substantially parallelogram form in cross-section in one direction and in which structure these certain walls are readily movable out of their angled position to enlarge the ice block compartments and break ice blocks therefrom.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a grid structure constructed entirely of metal and having a longitudinal wall and transverse walls dividing the interior of an ice tray into a plurality of ice blockcompartments and arranging the transverse wallsin spaced apart substantially parallel relation to one another at an angle relative to a perpendicular extended from the longitudinal disposition of the grid for tilting movement substantially parallel to the perpendicular whereby the ice compartments are' enlarged and the bond between the ice blocks and the grid walls is simultaneously broken to cause release of the ice blocks from the grid.

A still further and more specific object of'the invention is to provide a simplified structure forremoving a grid together with ice blocks bonded thereto from the tray to facilitate carrying out the preceding objects of releasing ice blocks from the grid.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accom; panying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the. drawings: s

Fig. 1 is a top plan'viewfof an ice tray having a grid positioned therein and constructed in accordance with the present invention;

. Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown n :1

I Figiylpand is taken on the line I ItherBOIl device in fragmentary cross-section;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view of the device taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an end plan View of the freezing device showing the grid moving means in normal position;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the grid structure and ice blocks bonded thereto elevated relative to the tray;

Fig. 7 is a view of the grid removed fromthe tray and disclosing certain walls of the grid moved relative to other walls thereof and showing ice blocks falling from the grid;

Fig. 8 is an end plan view of the device showing the position of the grid moving means corresponding to Fig. 6; and

Fig. 9 is another end plan view of the device showing the position of thegrid moving means corresponding to Fig. 7.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the various figures, I have shown a metal pan or tray in having side walls H (see Fig. 4), a bottom wall l2 and opposed end walls l3 and H. The side walls H and the end walls I3 and ll of tray l0 converge outwardly toward the top of the tray for the purpose of facilitatingremoval of ice from the tray in a manner to be hereinafter described. The upper portions of walls I l, I3 and I4 terminate in a rolled-over rim l5 which extends continuously around the top of the tray Hi to stiffen same. If desired a handle for facilitating placing of the tray l0 into or removal thereof from a supported position in or on an evaporator of a refrigerating system may be secured to an end of the tray in the conventional and well-known manner.

The tray III has in combination therewith a metal longitudinal wall or partition 23 having horizontally disposed hollow bosses or the like 24 and 25 extending upwardly from the ends thereof. These bosses 24 and 28 are provided by forming extended top'end portions of the longitudinal, wall ll over upon"'themselves and are therefore integral with the longitudinal .wall. The longitudinal wall 21 of the unitary grid structure 20. hasa plurality-of equally spaced apart slots 21 cutupwardly from the bottom. edge thereof. It will be noted that these, slots 21 are defined by a substantially vertical wall portion 28, a short horizontal wall portion 29 and an angled wall portion 3|. The purpose of the particular contour of slots 21 provided in longitudinal wall 23 will become apparent hereinafter. Grid 20 also comprises a plurality of walls 33 movably secured to longitudinal wall 23 and extending transversely thereto. The walls 23 and 33 of grid 20 form partitions for dividing the interior of tray l0. into the plurality of ice block compartments 2|. Each transverse wall 33 of grid 26 has an opening 36 therein which receives the web portion intermediate the .top edge of wall 23 and slot 21. The upper part of the opening 36 is closed by a finger portion 31 formed integral with the transverse walls 33. This finger portion 31 of walls 33 is normally bent outwardly or upwardly of the walls 33 during stamping thereof and is, after, the walls 33 are assembled onto the longitudinal grid wall 33 with their web portions below the opening 36 fitted within the slots'2l, struck inwardly or downwardly into the opening 36. The finger portion 31 therefore forms a closure for the opening 36 to provide an obstruction at the top thereof which secures the transverse walls 33 inassembled relation to wall 23 and forms a unitary construction. A square or rectangular in cross-section rod member 4 having a rounded end shaft portion 42 slidably fitting within the round hollow portion or hole 43 of boss 25, is provided along its bottom edge with a plurality of equally spaced apart transversely cut grooves 44. These grooves 44 are preferably spaced apart the same distance as the spacing of slots 21 in the longitudinal grid wall 23 and loosely fit over and receive the top edge of each of the transverse walls 33 for a purpose to be presently described. The oppo-- site or front end of rod member 4| has an integral threaded shaft portion 46 loosely fitted within the round hollow portion or hole 41 of boss 24. Bar or rod member 4| is carried by the grid structure 20 and may be assembled thereto in any suitable manner, but I preferably assemble the transverse walls 33 to longitudinal rod 4| into the preformed boss 24 with the partitions 33 registering with grooves 44 and then I bend .the extended metal portion of wall 23 over or around the shaft end 42 of rod 4| to form thereof, for"applying force to the tray in a manner to be presently described.

It is to be noted that the construction and arrangement of the various parts of my improved freezing device is such that the transverse walls 33 thereof are normally movable or tiltable relative to longitudinal wall 23 and positioned subv .wall 23 and insert the threaded shaft end 46 of stantially parallel to one another at an acute angle relative to a line extended perpendicularly to the'longitudinal extension of the grid structure. The rod 4| engaging the transverse walls 33 at their tops holds these walls against theangled wall portion 3| of slots 21 to maintainthe transverse walls in this normal position during freezing of liquid in the tray It). This normal position of the transverse grid walls 33 provides the ice block compartments 2| with a vertical cross-sectional contour or area, taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, which is in the form of a parallelogram. Consequently the ice blocks 55 normal acute angled position into a vertical po- Y sition against the vertical wall portion 28 of slots 21 will change the contour or cross-sectional area shape ofthe compartments 2| and this change enlarges these compartments to break the ice blocks 55 from the walls thereof andto cause release of the blocks from the compartments 2|. This enlargement of the com partments 2| is illustrated in Fig. '7 of the drawings and can best be understood by measuring a line drawn at right angles to the extension of the transverse walls 33 and between'two of these walls while these walls are in their normal position of acute angled disposition and then upon again measuring this line after moving same simultaneously with movement of walls 33 into their vertical position it will be observed that the dimension of this line has increased. While such measurements on the drawings forming a part of this application may be difficult to observe, due to the small scale of the drawings and the slight increase in size of the compartments required, the enlargement of the compartments 2| will be clearly ascertained on drawings of a larger scale.

Assume that water has been frozen in tray III in the form of the ice blocks 55 in compartments 2 I, by the cooling effect produced by the evaporator of a refrigerating system, and the tray I0 has been removed from the evaporator and it is now desired to harvest ice blocks from the tray and 1 from the grid structure 20. The wing nut means 5| is therefore rotated counter-clockwise or in the'direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 8, as if it were to be removed from the threaded shaft portion 46 of rod 4|, to bring the cam surface 53 formed thereon into engagement with the rim l5 of tray [0 to apply force thereto. This force applied to tray I0 causes the unitary grid structure 2|] and ice blocks bonded thereto to be elevated relative'to the tray. This counter-clockwise rotation of nut 5| breaks the bond between ice in the tray and the tray and permits the grid structure 20 and ice blocksbonded thereto to be removed from the tray l0. After the grid structure and ice has been removed from the tray wing nut 5| is threaded upon the threaded shaft portion 46 of rod 4| in a clockwise direction, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 9, to cause the nut to apply force to the boss or bearing 24 which force then slides the rod 4| lengthwise within both bosses or bearings 24 and 25 toward the nut 5|. Further sliding of rod 4|, by continued clockwise rotation of nut means 5| upon the threaded portion 46 of rod 4|, causes movement of the transverse grid walls 33 out of their normal acute angled position away from the angled wall portion 3| of slots 21 and into a vertical position against the vertical wall portion 28 of the slots 21.

about the ice blocks in compartments 2| at their compartments 2| and to change the shape thereof is clearly illustrated in Fig, 7 of the drawings. After the ice blocks 55 have been released from the grid structure wing nut is threaded upon the threaded portion 56 of rod 4| in a counterclockwise direction and the rod II is manually pushed back into its normal position as shown in Fig. 2 to thereby relocate the transverse grid walls 33 in their normal acute angled position to form parallelogram shaped ice compartments. Thislatter movement of wing nut 5| will again position the cam 53 on nut 5| so that it will register with the rim |5 of tray III when the grid structure is replaced in the tray. The walls of the grid structure are preferably treated,

coated or finished with a material or substance which is substantially water repellent to prevent ice adhering thereto and to thereby permit the walls to be made relatively thin so as to reduce bination, a tray having an upstanding rim and a unitary grid structure removably disposed in said tray, said removable unitary grid structure ineluding longitudinal and transverse partitioning -walls dividing the interior of the tray into a plurality of ice block compartments, an element operatively connected to said grid structure and extending longitudinally thereof, said element having portions thereof adapted to engage cer-.

tain walls of said grid structure and being provided with a screw threaded end extending over the rim of said tray, a member threaded upon the screw threaded end of said element and having an integral eccentric portion disposed above the rim of the tray and normally out of engagemerit therewith, said member being rotatable relative to said element for moving its eccentric portion into engagement with the'rim of said tray to thereby apply force between the tray and grid and cause elevationof said unitary grid structure together with ice blocks adhering thereto relativeto the tray, and said member being further rotatable relative to said element for moving the element lengthwise of said grid structure to cause said portions of said element to engage'and move said certain grid walls relativeto certain other of the grid walls for releasing ice blocks from their compartments.

larged and ice blocks broken from the walls.

The improved structure employs a minimum of wall parts or partitions for carrying out the objects of the invention to thereby greatly simplify the construction of grid structures for the purpose herein described. The improved grid structure is constructed entirely of metal to thereby retain the fast freezing characteristics of metal grid and tray combinations.

for elevating the grid relative to the tray and for moving certain walls of the grid relative to other walls thereof can be manipulated witha minimum of effort upon the part of the operator to thereby-overcome objections to similar devices heretofore employed and wherein great effort has been necessary to release ice blocks from-the In the structure disclosed the manually operated threaded means 5 2. An ice tray organization comprising in combination, a tray having an upstanding rim and a unitary grid structure removably disposed in said tray, said removable unitary grid structure including a longitudinal partitioning wall and a plurality of transverse partitioning walls spaced apart along the length thereof dividing the interior of the tray into rows of ice block compartments, said transverse grid walls being normally inclined relative to the vertical to provide said ice block compartments with a parallelogram form in at least one direction of crosssection therethrough, an element operatively connected to said grid structure and extending longitudinally thereof, said element having portions thereof adapted to engage said transverse walls of the grid structure and being provided with a screw threaded end extending over the rim of said tray, a member threaded upon the screw threaded end of said element and having an integral eccentric portion disposed above the rim of the tray and normally out of engagement therewith, said member being rotatable relative to said element for moving its eccentric portion into engagement with the rim of said tray to thereby apply force between the tray and grid and cause portions of said element to engage and move a said transverse grid walls relative to, said longitudinal grid wall and toward the vertical for releasing ice blocks from their compartments.

.' FRANCIS P. KEIPER. 

